Online Reporter
Victor Maphosa
Mashonaland East Bureau
GOVERNMENT’S support for irrigation schemes has transformed the lives of beneficiaries of Chitora 1 Irrigation Scheme in Mutoko District, which focuses on horticultural produce such as tomatoes and carrots.
Chitora 1 has 18 beneficiaries with 0.5 hectares each.
The farmers are now supplying big companies and wholesalers in Zimbabwe and have also managed to penetrate the Mozambican market.
Recently, acting chief director in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Mr Leanard Munamati visited the scheme to assess progress, as well as meet the farmers to hear their challenges and successes.
“Today, we have visited Chitora Irrigation Scheme in Mutoko to assess progress in terms of their horticulture production,” he said.
“There is a lot of horticulture production at this scheme and we have seen a lot of carrots, peas, tomatoes and baby marrow. So we are happy about what they are doing here.
“My appeal and encouragement for the farmers is to continue maximising production and feed the market. They must increase production to meet demand. They should make money at their irrigation scheme. We are excited that they are already linked to markets.
“We have since recommended that farmers here practice block system which will give them more area and improve production so that they can meet demand from various interested companies. We also encouraged them to think of modernising the scheme.”
Mr Munamati commended farmers for working hard and transforming their lives.
“We heard that these farmers are now creating a lot of employment for local people. They are making money for themselves and we are told a lot of them have built beautiful homes and are sending their children to better schools,” he said.
“These farmers are also selling their produce to local people and are contributing to food security.”
Chitora 1 Irrigation Scheme chairperson, Mr Garikai Muchena, said they are working closely with agriculture extension officers and have seen their lives transformed through farming.
“Most of our members are building beautiful homes here. There is a suburb which is growing nearby,” he said.
“We are creating employment for the people, especially during planting and harvesting periods.
“We have solar boreholes at our homes, some have bought cars, some are sending children to boarding schools. We have refrigerators and modern television sets in our homes and above all, we eat well.
“The only challenge we have is power cuts. We are also appealing to authorities to deal decisively with middlemen at Mbare Musika, they are ripping off.”
One of the farmers, Mr Kingston Kagoyo, said farming is paying off for him and has been supporting his family for years.
“I do horticulture production here. I started doing this in 1994 and I was growing carrots, sugar beans, groundnuts and maize,” he said.
“When we started here, we had nothing at all, but as we speak, I have a beautiful house. I bought cattle and I am sending my children to good schools, all because of this irrigation scheme.
“We initially sold our produce at Mbare Musika and now we are dealing with wholesalers and other companies. We have established a marketing committee here and the team is the one that scouts markets for us.
“We are happy and we will continue producing. We commend the Government for all the support. Our main challenge is electricity but we are optimistic that the situation will improve.”
Chitora Irrigation Scheme is divided into three sections, Chitora 1 with 18 farmers, Chitora 2 with 33 and Chitora 3 which has 23 farmers.
